Actelion Ltd. said a California
court reduced by $70.4 million the amount it was ordered to pay
to Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. over development of the lung drug
fasudil.

A state-court jury in San Mateo County awarded $577 million
to Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei on May 4. The court granted
Actelion’s request to offset some of the award with a previous
arbitration payment, the Allschwil, Switzerland-based company
said today in a statement.

“The company and its external advisers believe that the
jury verdict is neither supported by the facts nor is it correct
as a matter of law,” and will appeal, Actelion said in the
statement.

Asahi Kasei sued Actelion in 2008 claiming the company
acquired CoTherix Inc. to halt work on fasudil and protect
profits for its competing product, Tracleer. Before the
acquisition, CoTherix was developing fasudil with Asahi Kasei.

The decision “was not unexpected” and “was about $7
million less” than requested, Christopher J. Banks, an attorney
representing Asahi Kasei, said in an e-mailed statement.